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Monstrous hurricane Irma kills 14 in Caribbean, heads for Florida

CAP-HAITIEN - The “extremely dangerous” Hurricane Irma rages offshore vulnerable Haiti after devastating a string of Caribbean islands and killing at least 10 people as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century heads for the Turks and Caicos islands and Florida. (STORM-IRMA/ (WRAPUP 4, TV, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Makini Brice, 1,086 words)

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump embraces the idea raised by the Senate’s top Democrat of ending the need for Congress to periodically raise the U.S. debt ceiling, a day after stunning fellow Republicans by striking a major debt limit and spending deal with the opposition party. (USA-CONGRESS/ (UPDATE 4, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Richard Cowan and Amanda Becker, 787 words)

WASHINGTON/BEIJING - U.S. President Donald Trump says he would prefer not to use military action against North Korea to counter its nuclear and missile threat but that it would be a “very sad day” for the leadership in Pyongyang if he did. (NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/ (WRAPUP 7, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by James Oliphant and Christian Shepherd, 907 words)

Suu Kyi says Myanmar trying to protect all citizens in strife-torn state

YANGON/COX’S BAZAR - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi says her government is doing its best to protect everyone in the strife-torn state of Rakhine, as the estimated number of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh leapt by 18,000 in one day, to 164,000. (MYANMAR-ROHINGYA/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Shoon LeiWinNaing and Simon Lewis, 886 words)

UNITED STATES

U.S. appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to bar most refugees

NEW YORK - A U.S. appeals court rejects the Trump administration’s effort to temporarily bar entry to most refugees, ruling that those who have relationships with a resettlement agency should be exempt from an executive order banning refugees. (USA-IMMIGRATION/RULING (UPDATE 2), moved, by Mica Rosenberg and Jonathan Stempel, 480 words)

ISTANBUL - U.S. prosecutors have charged a former Turkish economy minister and the ex-head of a state-owned bank with conspiring to violate Iran sanctions by illegally moving hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on Tehran’s behalf. (USA-TURKEY/IRAN (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Daren Butler and David Dolan, 810 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TURKEY/CARGO (UPDATE 1), moved, by David Shepardson, 239 words

Trump’s son met Russian lawyer for damaging information on Clinton

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest son tells Senate investigators that he had set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because she might have had damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Patricia Zengerle and Karen Freifeld, 471 words)

MIDDLE EAST

Israel hits Syrian site said to be linked to chemical weapons

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM - Israel attacks a military site in Syria’s Hama province, the Syrian army says, and a war monitoring group says the target could be linked to chemical weapons production. MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-ISRAEL (UPDATE 6, TV), moved, by Sarah Dadouch and Jeffrey Heller, 740 words)

AMERICAS

Pope says Colombia must confront inequality to secure lasting peace

BOGOTA - Pope Francis urges Colombians to shun vengeance after a bloody 50-year civil war but says leaders must adopt laws to end the “darkness” of injustice and social inequality that breeds violence. (POPE-COLOMBIA/ (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Philip Pullella and Helen Murphy, 653 words)

ATHENS - Europe risks subjugation to China and the United States unless it becomes more sovereign and democratic, French President Emmanuel Macron says in a speech underlining the scale of his ambition to reform the European Union. (GREECE-FRANCE/MACRON (PIX, TV), moved, by Michel Rose, 345 words)

TALLINN - Germany says Russia is planning to send more than 100,000 troops to war games on NATO’s eastern flank this month, disputing Moscow’s version that only 13,000 Russian and Belarussian servicemen will participate. (RUSSIA-NATO/WARGAMES (UPDATE 1, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Robin Emmott, 480 words)

AFRICA

Protesters mass for second day to demand exit of Togo’s leader

LOME - Thousands of Togolese march for a second day against President Faure Gnassingbe’s 50-year family dynasty despite a near blackout in communications. (TOGO-PROTESTS/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by John Zodzi, 636 words)

Gbagbo allies behind attacks in Ivory Coast - interior minister

ABIDJAN - A group of allies of Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo, including at least one living in exile in neighbouring Ghana, are behind a wave of attacks on security installations this year, the interior minister says. (IVORYCOAST-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Loucoumane Coulibaly, 394 words)